An Even Wider-Mouthed Beer Can?!

This is my impressed face.

I can’t find the post, but years ago I wrote about what I consider to be one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind: the wide-mouth beer (or soda) can. By simply expanding the size of the hole, the can dispenses liquid in a faster and more delicious way.

Surely, I thought, this was the pinnacle of can design. It can’t get any wider, right?

Enter St. Louis brewer Urban Chestnut.

As I discovered tonight while attending the St. Louis FC/Chicago Fire soccer game, Urban Chestnut had discovered a way to remove the entire top from a can. I kind of wanted water, but when I saw someone with that can, I knew I had to try it.

So I did. And, of course, it was amazing.

With one elegant design tweak to the lid, Urban Chestnut cans transform into what is essentially an aluminum pint glass. It’s brilliant. I was elated by every sip.

We have those cans (Urban Chestnut’s Fantasyland) at Dewey’s. It’s always amusing to see the reaction of customers who haven’t seen the can before. A lot of the time people will initially think the top of the can was broken off somehow, though usually only for a second or two.

Interestingly, we always provide a glass with the can, and I have never seen someone decide to drink out of the can (even with this cool lid) instead of using the provided glass. In contrast, if someone orders a bottle of Budweiser they almost always drink out of the bottle.

That’s an interesting observation about people choosing to drink out of a glass instead of the wide-mouthed can. As much as I like the can, I think I’d do the same thing if I were at Dewey’s (but definitely not if I were at a soccer game or the park).